Orioles Prospect Report - September 2024

[Orioles]

From the September 3rd BA Hot Sheet:


9. Moises Chace, RHP, Phillies
Team: Double-A Reading (Eastern)
Age: 21

Why He’s Here: 1-0, 0.00, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 13 SO, 0 HR

The Scoop: The Phillies acquired Chace from the Orioles alongside Seth Johnson in exchange for Gregory Soto at the trade deadline. Chace has been very strong since joining the Phillies organization and threw his best start to date on Saturday. Chace tossed six scoreless innings allowing one hit, striking out 13 of 19 batters. After Chace allowed a hit to Rafael Flores with two outs in the bottom of the first he retired 16 consecutive batters to close his outing. Mixing a four-seam fastball at 94-96 mph, a low-80s sweeper and a low-80s changeup, Chace has three above-average shapes that all rate as above-average pitches per stuff+. (GP)


13. Jackson Baumeister, RHP, Rays
Team: High-A Bowling Green (South Atlantic)
Age: 22

Why He’s Here: 1-0, 0.00, 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 11 SO

The Scoop: The Rays were two games above .500 at the end of July, but their decision to trade away big league talent seems like a reasonable one with a month of hindsight. Tampa Bay has slid to three games under .500, but they would need to have made a significant step forward to be contending for a wild card spot in a league where being 11 games above .500 earns the final spot. And picking up talents like Baumeister are a potentially useful payoff. Since becoming a Ray, Baumeister is 2-0, 1.13 with a 35-to-4 strikeout ratio in six appearances and 24 innings. (JC)


From the September 10th BA Hot Sheet:


9. Jackson Baumeister, RHP, Rays
Team: High-A Bowling Green (South Atlantic)
Age: 22

Why He’s Here: 0-0, 1.80, 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO, 0 HR

The Scoop: At the deadline, the Rays pulled the neat trick of revamping their farm system while not completely surrendering their chase for a wild card spot. Baumeister was part of their haul. The former Orioles prospect and Florida State alum has been solid all season, but he’s been truly excellent since switching organizations. Nine strikeouts in his most recent start brings his total with the Rays to 44 against just five walks over 29 innings. Among pitchers with fewer than 100 minor league innings this season, Baumeister’s 139 strikeouts are the second-most, behind only former Orioles system-mate Chayce McDermott. (JN)


18. Carson Williams, SS, Rays
Team: Double-A Montgomery (Southern)
Age: 21

Why He’s Here: .353/.455/.647 (6-for-17), 5 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 3 BB, 4 SO, 2-for-2 SB

The Scoop: Williams has power, speed and a silky smooth glove at shortstop. He is currently one of just five minor leaguers with 20 or more doubles, 15 or more home runs and 30 or more stolen bases. Couple those offensive skills with his defense—which evaluators see as potentially Gold Glove-caliber—and you get an incredibly tantalizing prospect. If he can make a bit more contact, the forecast gets even rosier. (JN)


From the 9/11 BA article 5 Post-Deadline Performances...:


Moises Chace, RHP, Phillies (from Orioles)

At the deadline, the Phillies and Orioles connected on a deal that sent reliever Gregory Soto to the Baltimore for a two-player package that included Chace and righty Seth Johnson, who has since reached the big leagues. Chace had piqued evaluators’ interest earlier in the year on the strength of a repertoire led by a fastball with analytical properties that make it particularly intriguing. He buttresses that fastball with a pair of sliders—a sweeper and a true slider—as well as a new cutter and a developing changeup. The package worked together nicely, and Chace has performed well in his first taste of the upper levels, where he’s struck out 35 and walked just seven in 19.2 innings over four starts.


Jackson Baumeister, RHP, Rays (from Orioles)

Baumeister was another piece of the Rays’ farm system overhaul. This time, the deal sent righty Zach Eflin to the Orioles and also saw prospects Matthew Etzel and Mac Horvath enter the Tampa Bay system. With the Orioles, Baumeister was having a solid season. With the Rays, he has kicked things up a gear or two. The righthander stayed within the confines of the South Atlantic League, moving from Aberdeen to Bowling Green and concluded his regular campaign with seven stellar appearances (five starts) before the playoffs began. In that time, Baumeister punched out 44 hitters and walked just five over 29 innings, with just four earned runs in that span.


From the 9/13 BA article Revisiting 2024 Breakout Predictions...


...Tjayy Walton was limited by an oblique injury this season and showed flashes of power when healthy with tremendous top-end exit velocities (113.4 max EV) but needs to make more contact (36.2% miss).

...Jackson Baumeister pitched in High-A for the entirety of the season with both organizations and improved his walk rate significantly after he was traded to the Rays (5.5 BB/9 to 1.6 BB/9). His fastball remains a swing-and-miss pitch in the 91-95 mph range with great shape and extension, while his slider and changeup looked promising despite less usage than his mid-70s curveball.

,,,Henry Bolte’s strikeout rate is far too high and will continue to be an issue for him as he progresses to more advanced pitching, but he still did a ton of damage on contact, posted huge exit velocity data (108.4 mph 90th-percentile EV) and is a threat on the bases.


From the 9/23 BA article 2024 BA Minor League All-Star Teams:


SS Carson Williams, Rays
Double-A Montgomery

It was not a great season for pure shortstops in the minor leagues. Perhaps that is to be expected after so many recent phenoms—led by Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson and Elly De La Cruz—now star in MLB. Still, Williams does a lot of things that portend future MLB success, led by his lockdown glove, power, up-the-middle profile and youth. The 21-year-old’s name litters the pitcher-friendly Southern League leaderboards, while his 20-homer, 33-steal season indicates the quality and quantity of his work.


From the 9/25 BA article The 10 Youngest Players in the AFL:


1. Leodalis De Vries, SS, Padres (17 years old)

De Vries is not only the youngest player in the Fall League, he was the youngest player in the full-season minor leagues this year. The 17-year-old was the top player available in the most recent international signing period, and signed with San Diego for a bonus of roughly $4.2 million. He skipped over both the Dominican Summer League and Arizona Complex League, instead heading to Low-A Lake Elsinore after a quick warmup in extended spring training. After a couple of months to adjust, De Vries was spectacular in the Cal League, where he finished with 22 doubles, 11 home runs and 13 stolen bases over 75 games. He missed time with a shoulder injury and will make up those at-bats in the Fall League.


9. Rayner Castillo, RHP, Tigers (20 years old)
The second consecutive Tiger on this list is Castillo, a 6-foot-3 righthander who made 13 starts but missed roughly two months before making his season debut at Low-A Lakeland. He signed in 2021 and had spent the entirety of his career until this season in the complex leagues. Castillo works primarily with four- and two- seam fastballs—both of which peak around 97-98 mph—and a mid-80s slider. He has also sprinkled in a handful of low-90s changeups. He struck out just 56 hitters in 70.1 innings this season but did a good job keeping the ball on the ground and yielded just four home runs.